Swaminarayan launch India Covid Appeal 'Cycle to Save Lives' - static cycle ride equivalent to London-Dehli

 

The Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden is taking part in a fundraiser for Indian victims of the rapidly deteriorating pandemic.

They say:

Raising vital funds to save lives in India: Please support our 48-hour non-stop static relay challenge, covering a distance of more than 7,600 kilometres - the distance between London and New Delhi. Sat 1st May 2021 to Mon 3rd May 2021.

 

  LINK TO APPEAL GIVING PAGE

Parents win stay of execution for Swaminarayan School

The Kilburn Times LINK is reporting that following a 3,000 signature petition  organised by parents asking Trustees and Governors to keep theSwaminarayan schools open it has been decided to keep both the primary and secondary schools open until at least 2020.

The signatures were achieved despite a text message circulated around Swaminarayan Temple volunteers asking people not to sign the petition or pass it on to other groups because it would affect the reputation of the Swaminarayan organisation.

A governor, Tarun Patel, told the Kilburn Times:

We had a review after meeting the parents and came to the conclusion that we will keep both schools open until July 2020.

This will be welcome news for parents in years 4, 5 and 6 as it will allow students to complete their prep-school education.

If it’s feasible and circumstances allow, we will look to keep the prep school open for a further year until 2021.

Parents have put together a business plan that they claim would keep the school open for  another 7 years and are due to discuss their proposals with Trustees and Governors tomorrow.

Swaminarayan to bid to become a free school

 The independent, fee paying,  Hindu,  Swaminarayan School in Neasden is considering becoming a free school. The school for 4-19 year olds currently charges between £2,600 and £3,600 per year according to the pupil's age.  A few scholarships are available for those unable to afford the fees. The Swaminarayan is rated as one of the top performing independent schools in London and emphasises the 'best of English education combined with Hindu tradition'.

The Swaminarayan School was founded in 1991 and is housed in the former Sladebook High School building in Brent field Road, opposite the Swaminarayan Mandir.

The school's admission information states:

In order to qualify for entry, a child must reach a certain academic standard in the Preparatory School entrance examinations in English and Mathematics. He/she will have to pass an oral and written examination. Although Kindergarten/Nursery children are not tested academically, an informal interview is arranged between the parents, Head of Nursery and Head of Preparatory School. Assessments of the following areas will be carried out: child’s spoken language, vocabulary, nursery rhymes, ability to listen to instructions, solving simple puzzles, social skills and hand-eye co-ordinations are carried out

Free school status would mean that the school would become directly funded via the Department for Education. It was the first 'all-through' school in Brent combining primary (or Prep as the Swaminarayan call it) and secondary departments, and was followed by the Ark Academy and Preston Manor.  I doubt that the school could keep the admissions procedures if it becomes state funded - nor should it.

I understand that some parents are concerned that direct funding would result in class sizes becoming larger and I am not sure whether the regulations allow for some residual fee charging to enable school class sizes to be retained.  Parents, particularly those with several childrem, will save a considerable amount of money if the bid is successful.

I asked the Principal to comment on the reports about a possible free school application and also on rumours that the school might buy the neighbouring Centre for Staff Development when Brent Council vacates it next year.

Mr Mahendra Savjani, Principal of Swaminarayan School said:

The Swaminarayan School is considering applying for Free School status. Whilst we have not found a site, we would wish to locate to a site in the heart of the Hindu community. The excellent education that the school provides at present will be open to all.

There were rumours several years ago when Brent Council was looking for school sites that the Swaminarayan may move to Harrow but these reports were denied. Brent is expecting a shortage of secondary school places in the future as the swelling primary school population moves through the system.

The previously independent fee paying Batley Grammar School converted to free school status last September with much flag-waving from the government. LINK

Brent Council has decided that it will actively seek free school partners to address the shortage of school places.

There are a considerable number of small fee paying prep schools in Brent that might consider a similar move.  St Christopher's in Wembley upset parents a few years ago when it announced at short notice that it would be unable to run a Year 6 class the following academic year because numbers were not viable.

IS THERE A SECONDARY SCHOOL SITE IN THE SOUTH AFTER ALL?

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One of Brent Council's claims in promoting the Wembley Academy has been that there is no suitable site in the south of the borough. This means that the 50% of secondary pupils expected to come from the Stonebridge/Harlesden area would have to commute by at least two buses.

It now appears that the independent Swaminarayan School opposite the Neasden Temple in Brentfield Road, NW10 might be interested in moving their school to the north of the borough or Harrow, where most of their pupils come from, or in converting the school to a state funded academy. A sensible move when the recession makes private education less affordable. Previously the Council has rejected the neighbouring Gwynneth Rickus Building (the CSD) as a possible site but had not considered the combined Swaminarayan and CSD sites.

Swaminarayan acquired the site in 1992 after Brent council closed down Sladebrook High School. Since then local pupils have had to make their way across the North Circular to Wembley to attend a community secondary school. Although transport links to the school and the CSD are poor, it would be within comfortable walking distance for children from Stonebridge, Brentfield, Harlesden, Neasden and the St Raphaels Estate. This would reduce pupil journeys by car and public transport while the Wembley Park proposal would increase them. Map

As the centre of gravity of the borough shifts towards the north with the regeneration of Wembley and the replacing of many locally-sited council buildings by the Civic Centre, a school in the south of Brent would help enhance and enrich the area, providing additional facilities in terms of education, sports and culture. There is already parental pressure for a community secondary school in the south of the borough; a school on the site merits serious consideration by councillors.